Why Vitalik Says Smart People Need "Dumb Rules" (And He's Absolutely Right)

The more intelligent you are, the easier it becomes to rationalize anything. This is the unsettling premise of Vitalik Buterin’s recent article on “Galaxy Brain Resistance,” which tackles one of society’s most overlooked dangers: the weaponization of intelligence.

The Galaxy Brain Problem: When Smart Becomes Dangerous

You’ve probably encountered the galaxy brain meme before—that image of an expanding brain representing progressively “smarter” ideas. But Vitalik isn’t using it as a compliment. Instead, he’s targeting a specific behavioral pattern: using high intelligence to perform mental gymnastics, making the unreasonable sound perfectly logical.

In the crypto space, we see this constantly. Projects justify token dumps as “community empowerment through decentralized governance.” Companies eliminate employees while calling it “releasing high-quality talent back into the market.” VCs invest in obviously predatory schemes by framing them as “inevitable technological progress.” The pattern repeats: complex reasoning disguises simple greed.

This isn’t just sophistry—it’s a dangerous abuse of intelligence that allows smart people to bypass their own moral compasses.

The Core Issue: Low Resistance Theories

Vitalik introduces the concept of “Galaxy Brain Resistance”—essentially measuring how easily a theory can be twisted to justify literally anything. Low-resistance theories are intellectual time bombs.

Take “long-termism.” It sounds profound until you realize how it’s weaponized: “Yes, we’re cutting corners on safety today, but in 500 years, the utility gains will be infinite, so current suffering is negligible.” When your argument can justify literally any present harm through sufficiently distant future benefits, your argument justifies nothing.

The same applies to “inevitabilism”—the claim that something is historically destined, so personal responsibility doesn’t apply. “AI will replace jobs anyway, so my pursuit of aggressive automation isn’t profit-driven; I’m just following history’s arc.” This perfectly dissolves accountability while allowing you to sleep well at night.

Both frameworks are intellectually seductive precisely because they’re vague, unfalsifiable, and infinitely stretchable.

The Counterintuitive Solution: Return to Dumb Rules

Here’s where Vitalik’s prescription becomes almost shocking in its simplicity: embrace constraint.

Rather than relying on nuanced, context-dependent ethical frameworks that brilliant minds can endlessly debate, he advocates for “deontological ethics”—rigid, kindergarten-level moral rules that don’t negotiate:

• Don’t steal
• Don’t kill innocent people
• Don’t commit fraud
• Respect others’ freedom

These rules have extremely high resistance to galaxy brain thinking because they’re binary. They don’t allow for “well, actually” arguments. When tempted to misappropriate user funds for what seems like a greater good, the dumb rule “don’t steal” simply says: stealing is stealing. No math, no future calculations, no exceptions.

This isn’t primitive thinking—it’s protective guardrails designed specifically for intelligent people, the ones most likely to rationalize away their principles.

Position Matters More Than IQ

Vitalik makes another counterintuitive point: your physical location shapes your thinking. If you’re embedded in San Francisco’s accelerationist echo chamber, surrounded by people rationalizing every aggressive move as “inevitable progress,” staying grounded becomes nearly impossible.

Your seat determines your perspective. Breaking out of tight-knit ideological bubbles isn’t weakness; it’s a fundamental defense mechanism against groupthink and collective rationalization.

What This Means for Our Industry

The crypto space is particularly vulnerable to galaxy brain thinking because:

1. The technology is genuinely revolutionary, making it easy to invoke “for the future” justifications
2. Our communities are young and idealistic, prone to believing complex theories
3. Financial incentives are enormous, creating powerful motivation to rationalize

Vitalik’s warning cuts deeper than just calling out dishonesty. He’s saying: the smarter you are, the more dangerous you become—unless you voluntarily impose constraints on yourself.

The most sophisticated defense against self-deception isn’t more complex reasoning. It’s the deliberate choice to stick to simple, non-negotiable principles and to position yourself where those principles remain visible instead of hidden behind layers of theoretical justification.

Sometimes the wisest move is knowing when to stop thinking and start following the dumb rules.